Like every winter I went to Uganda to spend my time training and enjoying perfect kayaking conditions of warm water, no rocks, friendly people and general easy life with multiple spots to play at. This year we were glad to make it there with our Polish friends despite all the covid difficulties. Luckily the numbers around the Nile were fairly low and we had to take tests before flying and of course follow local restrictions. However, we had managed everything and it was worth it!
But honestly, the idea of isolating that was probably the best place, leaving on the bank of the Nile, just playing on the river every day and being able to work from there felt like an easier to handle and better isolation than the one back home where I been stuck at home with limited options of moving around. What made this year especially unique was the very high water releases that started happening in the first half of the year. Over the last ten months, Uganda has been on high release making White Nile a completely new place in terms of whitewater creating many completely new waves!
After unprecedented flooding around the region and a year of low water releases through the dams, Lake Victoria was at its highest-ever levels. Emergency releases started to help drop that level were sending 2400 cumecs through the dams, double a normal high water release of 1200 and triple the typical release since completion of Isimba HPP. The temporary high flows led to recreating all the rapids that we already knew by heart and bringing on the big wave game to Uganda!
The best waves are still in Uganda!
When we arrived, water levels were still being very high and have delivered us a completely new look at our favorite playgrounds. Keeping our old friends like superhole – perfect for learning, giving a new face to high water gem with combined Vengence & Phoenix wave size of Nile Special with nice eddy service and beautiful passes but also providing with new waves like Żubrówka which is a medium-size wave similar to garburator. Finally one of my favorite discoveries was AAA wave which was our big wave treasure!
To be honest my favorite fact about the whole trip is that living on the banks of superhole we had few steps into the rapids, where daily we could choose from an easy place to learn like superhole, feisty but great for tricks Żubrówka or a true challenge being AAA wave. Few minutes and we were back home ready to cook our lunch or rest in a hammock. This year it has felt like back in a day at the Hairy Lemon.
A bit about our favorite waves:
Superhole – It is still there and running. This time more wave-like and harder to pull hole tricks but they are still possible! However it is very nice and easy to learn all the wave basics over there with great eddy service and a very mellow way to set up and surf, great wave for beginners or dialing in the technique!
Żubrówka – we found it at the start of our stay and well, named it Żubrówka to give it a polish touch. This gem is in the second channel between babushka and the real deal. It wasn’t run often at all as all the water was leading into a sketchy rock but now water is flowing over it and there is a strong current which pushes you away from it. This wave also has a nice eddy service but if you miss it then you gotta hike up for bubushka or run it from the top. Tho it is very manageable and it does happen often so you can easily enjoy the whole session!
Vengence wave after merging with Phoenix is back to its prime levels creating a beautiful wave with great eddy service and an opportunity to camp just in front of it! With the right levels, you can fly very high and do all of the tricks! Yet mind not too flush too far down then the walk around the island from the bottom left eddy will be needed to bring you back to the wave! It is the primmest version of what we used to know of that wave but now much bigger and wider! An overnight stay at the island overlooking the wave with sunset session, campfire and sunrise session is one of my favorite things to do in Uganda these days!
Aaa is the sound which you make when you first time catches this wave. It has a narrow window with too high water being too green and too low getting very powerful and feisty. However, getting it just right is worth every day hunting for that perfect spot and is a real cherry on the cake to finish up a Ugandan trip. It is the biggest wave I have surfed! Surfing is like being on a constant roller-coaster kicking you up and down and if you can only commit to the trick then you can get huge aerial moves. If you want to come back to it you just catch the eddy, hop out and with a short walk on the island you are back at the top to drop in for another ride!
Again with infinite opportunities while staying at superhole we have been surfing, enjoying local food, sun, running other big water rapids (or just watching those that got too big!) and finally concluding a trip with a perfect bike safari at Lake Mburo. This trip couldn’t be better and we can not wait to show you more of high water Uganda!
Observing current trends it seems that high water levels may become a new normal! They have been stable now for few months and seems Victoria lake is still keeping high!
Join our experience the Uganda trips!
Through all of the year we organize trips to Uganda, check one of our dates at https://loveitliveit.co.uk/whitewater-kayaking-holidays-trips/uganda-experience-the-white-nile/
or enquiry to find a custom time to fit your needs
